China develops cyborg bees to find disaster survivors

Daily Mirror

6 days ago

Controllers which weigh less than a pinch of salt are strapped to the back of a worker bee and connected to the insect's brain through small needles in Chinese scientists'' bid to turn bees into cyborgs for special missions
It sounds like science fiction but it's become science fact. Chinese experts have created the first 'cyborg bee'. Insects are fitted with abrain controller and receive in flight commands via tiny eclectic pulses. According to the Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, the development opens up the possibility of bees serving as military scouts. But the use of the animal kingdom by the military is nothing new.
From the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses going into battle with his pet lion to a US project which planned bomb carrying bats our four legged and feathered friends have fought - and died - alongside humans for centuries.
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Dogs
Our canine friends have been used for decades by the military in a variety of roles. Thanks to their keen smell, they can locate mines and concealed IEDs - they were regularly used in Afghanistan - and have played vital roles in search and rescue operations being sent out into No Man's Land during WW1 to wounded men. During WW11 dogs were parachuted behind enemy lines to accompany D
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Day troops. Others were employed on the Home Front to find people buried under rubble after bombing raids. Among the most famous is Rip, a terrier, who is credited with saving the lives of more than 100 people and was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery in 1945.
Horses and camels
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When WW1 broke out both sides in the combat had large cavalry and horse and camel mounted troops were sent into battle. nHorses were also used to pull ambulances and evacuate wounded men, particularly when vehicles couldn't get through mud-laden roads and battlefields.
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In the desert, camels could carry two injured men at a time - one either side of its hump.
In 2014 a horse called Warrior was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal after serving the entire campaign and being nicknamed the 'horse they couldn't kill' by Tommies.
Mice and canaries
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Poisonous gas was a real threat to troops so canaries and mice, often housed
in cages in the trenches, were kept by WW1 soldiers. Their reaction - and
death - was an early warning sign of the presence of toxic fumes.
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Dolphins
Both Russian and US navies have experimented with the use of marine animals, training them to rescue lost naval swimmers, guard ships against enemy divers, locate mines and help recover lost equipment on the sea bed. While dolphins are often acknowledged for their intelligence, seals and sea lions have also been deployed.
Whales
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In 2019, a Beluga whale was found off the coast of Norway wearing a harness labeled Equipment of St. Petersburg . This led to speculation he had been trained by the Russian Navy as a 'spy'. The latest thinking is that the whale, called Hvaldimir, did belong to the military and was being trained to guard a Russian naval base in the Arctic Circle. He had, in fact, abandoned his duties and had swam off seeking freedom.
Pigeons
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These feathery messengers were trained to carry information particularly in WW1 when other forms of communication were difficult.
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Their role was deemed so crucial that anyone caught killing a pigeon could be imprisoned or fined. The birds were also used in surveillance with the CIA attempting to use pigeon cameras'. A CIA pigeon camera dating from the 1970s is displayed in the CIA Museum in Virginia.
Elephants
Two circus elephants, Many and Kiri, were used during WW11 in Germany to clear wreckage in the aftermath of Allied bombing raids.
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Using their huge strength to move debris in order to rebuild the nation, the pair, who had performed in the big top in Hamburg, carried on their work after the war. Both died in the 1960s. Elephants were also used to carry ammunition in the Far East conflict.
Cats
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Ships' cats have long been used in the Royal Navy to control vermin on ships and as acting as mascots. Black and white puss Simon of HMS Amethyst received the Dickin Medal in 1949 after surviving injuries from an artillery shell, raising morale - and killing off a rat infestation on board.